The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-12-27
SUGAR MAKING.
Process OF Manufacture Observation-Disclosures
Qualities OF Sugar Obtained.

Qualities OF Sugar Obtained.
Z. V. Smalley, in the Century.
The Magnolia sugsr-house is generally known
in Louisiana as having the best machinery and
for two reasons: First. conservatism of the
older class OF planters which leads them to stick
to the methods they understand. and second.
the fact that the business of suear-making has
not been sufficiently profitable in recent years
to ens BILE planters of moderate capital to pur-
chase apparatus They are obliged to hold
on to their old pans and kettles for want of
money to buy new. Let now go into the great
irregular brick building, with its three tower
like chimneys and its general big factory air,
which contains the sugar-making plant,
promising at the start to go through hastily, and
not to bore the reader with details about ma
chinery, or with the fine scientific points OF the
business. sugar planter will talk to you by
the hour about percentages of sucrose and glu-
cose, inverted capitalization, degrees of vac
CUM and polarscope tests, until your brain
takes in only "a confusion of words and figures.
First, the owner of Magnolia calls attention TO
his bagasse burner, which makes more than half
the steam used TO run the MILL Formerly the
bagasse, which is the cane after it has parted
with much OF its juice the mill will ex-
tract, was either burned in furnace to get rid
of it, or thrown out on the levee to help fight off
the river from eating away the bank. Now
every economically managed mill burns it to
make steam by the aid of the draft of an enor-
nous chimney. The best method Is to burn it
on the CRATES, under which air is forced by
blower.
The canes, hauled in the big carts from the
carried into the mill. usually direct to the big
iron rollers but at Magnolia first to ''shred-
der" There are only two shredders in the
State. the machine being a new invention. Its
revolving teeth cnew ND the cane into pulp The
pulp and juice fall upon aIrubber apron, which
carries them to the mill; grinding is simply
squeezing between three or four sets or iron
rollers. Now the juice runs into trough to a
strainer, where a woman gathers up now and
then these shreds of cane remaining. and takes
them back to the mill. Next the juice is pumped
into an iron cylinder called the Juice heater"
and heated with exhaust steam to 1912. This is
a new process not much in use. Next il runs
int the CHARTERS defecators, which are large
iron watts with rows of steam pipes at the bot
tom Here Stacked qucklime is added, which
brings to the top all impurities, to be skinned
off into a division OF the pan At the end. Tho
Juice is then boiled and brushed with a long
paddle unit! the bubbles become white, when it
is allowed to settle for fifteen minutes. There
skimmipgs by putting them through filter
processes.
In the advanced process at Magnolia the juice
next goes through bonebl filters instead of
to the ordinary settling tanks, TO settle for six
or seven hours. A filter is q big iron drum con-
tanning 1000 pounds of animal bone black. The
"char" must be washed with hot water every
two days and dried in kiln. After flterine,
the juice. still thin when first pressed from
the cane, goes to the double effects" This is
a new apparatus, resembling two upright boilers
of portable engine. Each cupoa-like machine
con tans 500 tubes, in which the juice is boiled
in a vacuum by exhaust steam. The usual plan
of steam pipe at the bottom. Now the juice
goes to fresh filters. and next to the vacuum
pan, which is not pan. but big iron cupola-
shaped cylinder, with apparatus for exhaust
ing the air and multitudinous coils of steam
pipe. This is the process requiring most skill.
The chief sugar-maker attends to it himself
watching his vacuum gauge and thermometer
and testing every few minutes his
boiling mass by drawing out O tube which does
not break the vacuum.
He seeks to keep the temperature down to
1902. II it is too high some OF the surcose will
''invertr or caramel" into glucose, and the pro-
portion of sugar will be lessened First ne fills
granulations of sugar against the light In his
test tube he admits more juice, and thus builds
mp the grains little by little to larger size.
When sufficiently boiled the thick syrup is
called the s.massa cutie" The .'strike"is now
done, air is admitted to the pan and the contents
are run off into the 'mixer"-a huge oblong iron |
''masse cutie" falls into the ''centrifugals," |
which are small drums holding about l20 pounds |
IF sugar. Within the drum is a wire screen |
basket revolving at the rate OF 1000 turns per |
The centrifugal force throws out the
nolasses through the wire network and leaves
The sugar. Perfectly clear water is then epurted
nto the drum from syringe This water Is
brown out through the sugar. washing out the
remaining coloring matter. The motion OF the
centrifugal is now stopped and the sugar let out
# a trap in the bottom into a screw conveyer,
rom which bucket band is carried to big |
lin. man stands in the bin and shovels the
ugar, as if it were wheat, into q tube, under
GIVE il.
The first product of sugar mill is called
'frsts," and is the whitest and best sugar. The
nolasses is boiled again In the vacuum pan,
oes again through the centrifueals, and light
rown sugar called seconds" results. Yet
gain the remaining molasses goes through the
,ans, but the "masse cutie" is now sticky and
tringy, and will not yield its sugar to the
eutrifugals. It is put into iron tanks on wheels
allied wagons" each of which holds $500
ounds, and wheeled into the bot-room. The
emperature here is from 90o to 1000. Here the
'agons stand in closely packed rows for thirty.
avs. The mass is now very stiff and wary. 1t
next thrown in the boiler, stirred up well and
ut into the contrifugals with cold water which
-ashes out the molasses. The final remainder
sugar is called ''thirds." and is of dark
rown color. The separated molasses is OF
cry poor quality and sells for only about Is
ents gallon. Distillers use il to make alcohol
nd the glucose manufacturers buy il to give q
ane flavor to their glucose syrup.
1t Didn's Work.